China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Participants adjust their make up backstage during a breast model contest in Hefei, Anhui province September 24, 2014. Over 100 models participated in this contest, which was held by a cosmetic company. The winner was awarded 680,000 yuan ($110,825) as cosmetic funds and 30,000 yuan ($4,890) in cash, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Model Bella Hadid, right, walks the runway with other models at the end of the Fashion For Relief 2018 event during the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 13, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP Photo)

American model Emily Ratajowski has been announced as the new Brand Ambassador for Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi. The stunning model on November 12, 2024. celebrated the partnership by seductively posing in a sеxy look from Intimissimi's newest collection, wearing the Couture de Nuit Bandeau Bustier (Photo by Intimissimi/The Mega Agency)

British fashion designer Mary Quant, right, waves as she poses with models wearing her Mod creations in Little Rock, Ark. on October 25, 1968. The models, from left, are, Amanda Tear, Rory Davis and Penny Yates. (Photo by AP Photo)

A model train travels past a scaled model of New York's Grand Central Station built entirely with plant parts during a media preview of the 25th annual Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., November 14, 2016. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

A model poses for a portrait backstage during Dakar Fashion Week July 10, 2011. (Photo by Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

Model Alba Carrillo attends “Glamour” beauty awards 2012 at Pacha Club on March 14, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)